Celebrations to mark this year’s 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet will gain added impetus next month with the release by the Royal Mail of eight commemorative stamps illustrating scenes from the Wars of the Roses.
April is the most important month in the history of High Barnet station — the first steam train pulled out on 1 April 1872 and the first tube train left for Charing Cross on 14 April 1940 after the much-delayed extension of Northern Line electrification.
Continue reading April anniversaries for arrival of steam and electric trains at High Barnet station
A memorial service at Hadley Highstone marked the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet — starting a year of commemorative events which all being well will include a return in September of the highly successful Barnet Medieval Festival.
Continue reading Wreaths laid in memory of men who died 550 years ago in the Battle of Barnet
A band of volunteers spent the afternoon scrubbing down High Barnet’s most popular street art fixture — the long teak bench that extends for much of the length of Church Passage and provides a welcome resting place for one and all.
Continue reading Community action delivers — volunteers scrub clean the longest bench in Barnet
Land Registry documents hold the answer to at least some of the mystery surrounding the ownership and future of High Barnet’s vacant market site: the land is now owned by Aberdeen City Council which purchased the site for £4 million in April 2019.
Continue reading Can you believe it? Aberdeen Council now owns historic Barnet marketplace
Barnet High Street is once again resplendent with heraldic banners from the Wars of the Roses — just one of the many ways in which the local community will be celebrating this year’s 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet.
Continue reading Medieval banners helping to bring Barnet High Street back to life
Developers preparing revised proposals for tower blocks of flats on the former gas works site in New Barnet say they have “learned lessons” from their previous failure to get planning approval.
Continue reading Troubled gas works site developers say lessons have been learned
Resident guardians who are having to leave a Victorian mansion in New Barnet that has been their home for the last five years fear for the safety of the building while a planning dispute drags on.
Continue reading Campaign to preserve New Barnet Victorian villa for community use
Critical questions about the future of the town centre will have to be addressed by Barnet Council if plans go ahead to replace much of the Spires with blocks of flats.
A socially distanced service, the chiming of the parish church bell and a minute’s silence marked the centenary of Chipping Barnet war memorial.
Continue reading Commemoration of centenary of memorial to “Barnet boys who gave their lives”
The Spires shopping centre in Barnet High Street is up for sale for £25 million and the agents are promoting the option of a new owner possibly replacing some of the shops with several five-storey blocks of flats.
Continue reading Spires up for sale at cut-price offer after slump in shopping centre values
After being roundly refused planning permission last year and failing to get the support of the Mayor of London, developers are again inviting residents to offer ideas and opinions on fresh proposals for a massive housing scheme on the New Barnet gas works site.
Winning a national award is another accolade for Barnet calligrapher Gwyneth Hibbett whose skills are on display on five historic information boards which have been installed in the High Street by Barnet Museum.
Continue reading “Historic Barnet” calligrapher wins national prize
After a High Court ruling that College Farm, Finchley, should remain an agricultural tenancy, a fresh campaign has been launched to see if the farm can be re-stocked and re-opened to the public.
Barnet Council is under renewed pressure to carry out a full survey of repairs required to restore the dis-used Tudor Park cricket pavilion in New Barnet.
A report into the four-year project to discover the site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet explains why a team of military historians still cannot provide answers to the mystery surrounding the precise location of an epic confrontation during the Wars of the Roses.
Continue reading Mystery remains over lost battlefield site of 1471 Battle of Barnet
The Bull Players’ performance of Fog of War — their contribution to the commemorations to mark the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet — is to be staged in mid-September in the historic setting of the garden of Monken Hadley church.
Continue reading Open air production planned for Battle of Barnet play
A commemorative booklet has been published by Barnet Museum and Local History Society to mark the 100th anniversary of the erection of the Chipping Barnet war memorial.
Continue reading Plans for war memorial centenary but cleaning will have to wait
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has decided not to overrule Barnet Council in the dispute over plans to redevelop the Whalebones fields and woodland with the construction of 152 new homes.
Continue reading Another setback to plans for houses and flats in Whalebones fields and woods
Cleaning and repairs to Hadley Highstone herald the start of what promises to be a year of events to mark the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet which will include the return in September of the Barnet Medieval Festival.
Continue reading Hadley Highstone clean-up for Battle of Barnet anniversary
Gladsmuir pond, a much-loved feature of Monken Hadley Common, is being recolonised by smooth and great crested newts which are returning following their winter hibernation in the nearby woods and grassland.
Continue reading Monken Hadley’s great crested newts survive pipe-laying works
Contractors laying a new water main across Monken Hadley Common have started the most delicate part of the work — constructing a 17-metre long tunnel under the historic arched gateway along the footpath that leads to King George’s Field.
Continue reading Tunnelling to protect gateway commemorating King George’s Field
Music lovers are in for a post-pandemic treat: plans are well advanced for a series of concerts at Barnet parish church in early July aimed to take advantage of a possible easing of lockdown.
Continue reading Church concerts to herald revival of cultural events
Research by a local historian provides a fascinating insight into the occupations and everyday life over a century ago among the several hundred families who lived in a respectable working-class enclave close to Barnet town centre.
Continue reading A snapshot of life among Barnet’s working class a century ago
PVC plastic advertising signs hung from lampposts — including possibly along the full length of Barnet High Street — might become a new way of generating income for Barnet Council.
Continue reading Bid for lamppost advertising banners in High Street and other main roads
Barnet Council’s Planning Committee A has agreed unanimously to reject an application to demolish 33 Lyonsdown Road in New Barnet and to replace it with a block of 20 flats.
Bringing to life the daily toll of women working in a medieval kitchen is at the heart of a new play that depicts mounting tension as local inhabitants readied themselves for the 1471 Battle of Barnet.
Continue reading Life of medieval women features in play celebrating Battle of Barnet anniversary
Winter tree planting is in full swing in Barnet’s green spaces and in the surroudning green belt. A new hawthorn hedge has been extended on Barnet Hill.To the north-east of Trent Park, 50,000 young trees are being planted to help restore Enfield Chase. Across the borough, Barnet Council has planted over 700 trees during the last 12 months on roadside pavements and verges.
Continue reading Barnet’s open spaces and local green belt boosted by tree planting
Barnet Council’s environment committee is examining the feasibility of using small parks and green spaces across the Borough of Barnet as possible sites for installing solar panels or electricity storage units for renewable energy.
News of the plan – which could result in reduced public access — has met with an angry response from residents and conservationists.
Continue reading Anger over possible installation of solar panels in Barnet parks and open spaces
Champions of Barnet’s history, heritage and culture are determined to ensure the town does all it can — despite covid.19 restrictions — to commemorate the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet.
Continue reading We will be back, say Battle of Barnet re-enactors
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